Stay With Me
by onetreefan
Summary: Derek quickly realizes that he may lose the most important thing in his life. MG ONESHOT Inspired by "Stay With Me" by Marc Broussard. HIGHLY ENCOURAGE listening to song :


_Today for the first time_

_I saw the sun rise_

_and wondered what I would do _

_if you were gone_

_I know you've been thinkin'_

_thinkin' of leavin'_

_You've been waitin' on me for way too long_

_I know that I'd be crazy_

_to let you walk out that door_

Derek's eyes shot open in the darkness of the night as he tried to calm his racing heart. Turning his head to the side, he saw her laying beside him. Penelope was unaware of his study upon her.

She slept into herself, her arms wrapping around her stomach, her legs slightly bent. Her body faced away from him. No longer did a smile grace her lips as she slept. No longer did her body need his cradle in the night. Instead, his touch upon her skin would cause her to stiffen, a whimper leave her sleeping lips and a lonesome tear to leave her eye.

Derek couldn't recall when they started tearing apart. Forever, he would view her as his solace, his safety, his home. Yet, in recent months, their flirtation was diminishing, their sex was scheduled and their fights were more frequent. Cases became too intense as Emily's & JJ's returns shook up their team dynamics as well as Penelope's relationship with the team.

His nightmare continued to replay in his mind. He watched her pack her things, he being unable to touch her, hold her, reassure her. Derek could see the tears cascading down her face, her trembling fingers as she pushed down their photo beside their bed. He ran after her as she would step into Esther. She looked back up to the house, her seeing right through him, and began to drive away. Derek would call out to her, but he shook awake when a truck backing up from a neighboring driveway crashed into her side, his scream causing him to awaken.

Shaking his head from the images, his eyes returned to his sleeping Goddess, who was currently sleeping beside him. Derek longed to touch her, pepper her with kisses and affection. However, he could see her distancing herself with each day, and he had no one but himself to blame.

Derek took advantage of her heart and loyalty. He was harsher with her, more distant. He took advantage of the fact that she would never leave him. Yet, as he stared at her sleeping form, he realized how much he hurt her in recent months. As he rested his head against his pillows, Derek realized he would have to swallow his pride and treat her like the Goddess she deserved once the sun rose. No longer would she live each day without knowing his love for her.

_So baby just stay with me_

_and I'll find a way to get it where we wanna be_

_Just stay with me_

_and I promise I can be the man you need me to be_

_And I confess I can't live without you_

_I'd be a mess_

_Baby I need you to _

_stay with me_

_We'll make it work this time_

The sun was teasing his eyelids as he awoke to the sounds of opening drawers and snapping. His hand instinctively felt for movement beside him. Coldness greeted his rough hand instead of desired warm luscious curves. Rolling over and opening his eyes, Derek felt his heart drop at the image before him.

She had her iPod on, the bright pink and green ear buds shielding her from his voice. On their hope chest, she had her suitcases opened. Half of her belongings were folded and organized within the flowered luggage, the other half was ready to be packed away once they were released from their prison within their dresser. Hot tears fell from her eyes, yet her determined actions kept her from wiping the salty liquid away.

He studied her. Her hair was pulled tightly in a pony tail, expect for two rebellious strands of hair that framed her face. Her bottom lip was swollen from the nips she would bite when she was nervous. Sitting up in bed, he watched her as she moved to their bathroom and she gathered her belongings.

"Baby Girl?" he choked out, his voice raspy and shaken.

She ignored him. Whether her music was blasting or she chose to deny his inquiry, Penelope moved about the bathroom, gathering her soaps and shampoos with shaking hands.

"Penelope?" he asked, getting out of bed, slipping his sweats over his boxers, too shaky to pull on a tank. He moved to her luggage as his hands hovered over her clothes, his heart beat racing with each second of her silence.

She brushed him and his hand away as she loaded the beauty products into her bag. Derek felt a stab of betrayal as she moved around him, her silence his only companion. Frustrated with her isolation, he growled her name loudly, "Penelope!" causing her to stop her movements, her back to him, but her tears causing her body to shake.

"What are you doing?" he asked slowly.

"We can't do this anymore, Derek," she replied.

_Too many people_

_going in circles_

_looking for love they've already found_

_I used to be like that_

_but I'm not goin' back_

_I'm sorry that it took so long _

_for me to come around_

_I know you're feeling scared_

_but I swear I won't let you down_

_Derek_. That killed him. The nicknames had been lost weeks ago, but hearing his name being whispered while lace with tears felt like a gun fired off into his stomach. "Do what?" he asked.

Turning to him, she looked at him with heartbroken eyes, "This!" she cried. "We aren't working anymore, Derek! We aren't us anymore. You barely touch me. You barely look at me. We fight all the time. As much as I love you, I can't keep doing this."

"Baby Girl..."

"Don't!" she growled, putting up a finger to silence him. "You lost the right to call me that a long time ago."

Derek felt his world being torn apart. "Penelope," he ground out, the sound of her name encouraged his racing heart. "Please don't..."

"Please don't what?" she asked, her anger quickly replacing her sadness. "Don't leave? Don't give up? Don't be upset? What, Derek! What don't you want me to do?"

"I need you," he whispered. "It's always been us, us against it all. Remember?"

Sardonically, she chuckled and gave him a fierce glare, "Us? When was the last time we have been us, Derek? When was the last time you wanted an us?"

"I have always been here," Derek replied, his defenses building with the passing seconds.

"No, you haven't!" she replied. "I thought things would return to normal, if not better once JJ and Emily returned. I thought that we would finally have our shot at having a happy life together. But guess what, Derek? You don't trust me!"

"I don't trust you? I live with you!" he growled, his confusion evident upon his face.

"I am a room mate and a fuck buddy," Penelope snapped, tears falling down her angry cheeks. "Don't mistake that with trust."

"You're wrong," he said stepping toward her.

"Tell me, Derek, what were you and Emily talking about in the conference room last week that caused her to break down crying and you to go to the gym and run for two hours and leave the dinner I made us cold?"

Derek knew that she was upset about missing that dinner. It was the night of their six month anniversary. However, his lack of trust in Emily shook him to his core. Her return was a difficult transition. Though he was beyond grateful that she was alive, but he did not believe she wouldn't go running when an opportunity opened up for her. "Pen..."

"Or why didn't you tell me you went to Strauss and Hotch to discuss details of the New York position?"

Derek ground his teeth in frustration. He wanted to gather information about the job. His heart was in Quantico, but he needed to know what his options were. "That was before us," he replied.

"How about the fact that I am getting older and want a family of my own and that I fear that the thought of me being pregnant would be enough to watch you run out the door?" she yelled, her hands pushing him further away from her.

"We haven't talked about a family, but I want that for us," Derek exclaimed, voicing desired he had buried for years.

"Or, how about the fact that every time I touch you, you move away as if you have been burned? Or the fact that you woke up in the middle of the night last night after an awful nightmare and you didn't want me to comfort you? You didn't bother to wake me." Penelope felt her resolve break with her final complaint, her heart shattering before him. He tried to step toward her, but she stepped back, her body making contact with the wall. With tears spilling before her, she looked into his eyes and cried, "You don't see me! You don't see my love for you! And I just can't do this anymore!"

Derek pulled her into his arms and let her cry as she punched into his chest. Her sobs were loud and filled with heartbreak. The guilt that at away at Derek's heart caused bile to rush up his esophagus and tears to spill from his eyes. He tried to sooth her pain and tears with words of reassurance and love that were murmured into her hair. "I've got you," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

_So baby just stay with me_

_and I'll find a way to get it where we wanna be_

_Just stay with me_

_and I promise I can be the man you need me to be_

_And I confess I can't live without you_

_I'd be a mess_

_Baby I need you to _

_stay with me_

_We'll make it work this time_

After moments of them holding one another, Penelope extracted herself and straightened her appearance. Releasing a shaky breath, she continued to move around the room and gather her things.

Surprised, Derek interrupted her by softly grabbing her wrist, "What are you doing, Baby Girl?"

"Derek, just because I broke down doesn't mean things have changed. If anything, things have only escalated."

Stunned, Derek released her and watched as she continued to pack their life away into suitcases. With each photograph and article of clothing disappearing from his sight, Derek felt his world spinning out of his control. "Stop!" he yelled interrupting their minutes of silence.

"Derek?" she moaned shaking her head sadly.

"You can't walk away."

"We are going in circles, Derek," she whispered. "There's nothing for us now."

"We have it all," he whispered, stepping before her. "Baby Girl, you continue to take my breath away. Your smile, your heart, it is what guides me home after every case. You are what keeps me going, Penelope."

Penelope leaned forward and pressed a wet kiss to his lips, however the kiss was filled with defeat. "We can't do this," she whispered against him.

_We belong together_

_and I'm not goin let you walk away_

_Hold on to you forever_

_Baby, I just want you to stay_

"Penelope, I trust you with my heart, my mind and my spirit. For years, you have been my solace and place of safety. If you need me to remind you of my trust in you every day, I will yell it from the roof top of the Bureau each morning before a briefing. I trust you completely and I am so sorry for shielding myself from you and hurting us."

Penelope looking into his onyx eyes and couldn't find any traces of deceit or arrogance within them. Instead, love and panic ran through his veins and projected themselves within his eyes. "Derek..."

Stepping into her space, he cupped her face within her hands and kissed her deeply, his tongue demanding entrance into her tempting mouth. She moaned into him, her hands gripping the skin of his back tightly, her nails scratching him softly.

After long moments of their kiss, he rested his forehead against hers and wiped away her haunting tears. "I promise to be the man you need and want for the rest of our lives. Just stay, Baby Girl. We will make this work."

Penelope nodded in agreement and held him tightly in her arms, their lips pressing random kisses of reassurance upon each other's neck and shoulders as they cried out their final frustrations. Though they still had a lot to repair, both knew that they would make it once they decided to stay.

_Oh baby just stay with me_

_and I promise I can be the man you need me to be_

_Stay with me_

_and I'll find a way to get it where we wanna be_

_Just stay with me_

_and I promise I can be the man you need me to be_

_And I confess I can't live without you_

_I'd be a mess_

_Baby I need you_

_And I confess I can't live without you_

_I'd be a mess_

_Baby I need you to _

_stay with me_

_We'll make it work this time_

_Oh baby, just stay _


End file.
